Subcategories

9 good things that happened around the world this week

Every time we try to catch up on the news, negative stories constantly seem to dominate the headlines. There’s a reason why we say some things “restore our faith in humanity” – it’s because we rarely get exposed to the wealth of good things happening around us everyday.

That’s why each Wednesday we bring you a roundup of some of the biggest news stories about good things that happened around the world to help brighten your day.

Here are nine positive things that happened last week that you should know about (in no particular order):

July 29 to August 5, 2015

Turkish groom Fethullah Üzümcüoğlu and his bride Esra Pola decided to spend their wedding day helping others who needed it the most. The couple was married in Kili province on Syria’s border, where thousands of Syrian refugees also reside. For their wedding reception, the bride and groom opted out of a lavish celebration and instead chose to collaborate with an aid organization to feed more than 4,000 refugees living close by. The couple helped distribute the meals and also took their wedding pictures with the refugees at the camp.

2. Man leaves $235,000 to be donated to animals

Image: Getty

An Idaho man who died of natural causes left behind a very large donation to his local police station’s animal safety unit. Richard Weitzal left $235,119 for the Post Fall’s Animal Safety Division. In his will, Weitzel stated that he wanted to leave his money to help improve the lives of local animals. Weitzel also left the same amount for another organization in Washington, D.C. “We were very surprised. I can’t think of a donation – anything to this amount -that’s going to be able to help the community, help this animals, like this is,” said Post Fall’s police officer Scot Haug.

3. After being attacked by a pit bull, this six-year-old is determined to help animals

Image: DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

Six-year-old Lia Vega is an example of true resilience and courage. The little girl was helping her grandmother do the laundry outside when she was attacked by a pit bull. The dog jumped on Vega and bit her on the chest. “I thought the dog was going to kill my granddaughter,” said Ruth Naut, her grandmother. But Vega has not let the attack bring her down. She is using the dangerous encounter as motivation to help animals when she is older and she dreams of becoming a vet when she grows up. “I want to take care of animals. They make funny sounds,” she said.

Seven-year-old Brielle Pronick loves drawing pictures on the street with her sidewalk chalk. Recently, the little girl from Courtney, B.C., was finishing one of her drawings when she saw a street sweeper approaching her art. She thought that her drawings would be washed away but the driver made sure to lift up the truck’s sweepers so nothing would be erased. Brielle’s father happened to catch it all on video. “The timing was uncanny as my husband was just taking pictures of my daughter’s art when the street sweeper came around the corner,” Brielle’s mother, Kristen Pronick, wrote when uploading the video on the city’s Facebook page.

5. Seven-year-old girl saves two newborn kittens after finding them in her backyard

Image: KentOnline

Seven-year-old Madison Broad heard a crying sound coming from her garden and went out to see what was making the noise. She searched around the yard and found two newborn kittens close to death huddled in the corner of the garden. The little girl was determined to save the kittens and immediately got to work. “She was so organised, she said to me ‘daddy, call the RSPCA, put the towels in the microwave and get them hot, we need to warm the kittens up’. She put me to shame, truthfully,” Madison’s father, Richard, told reporters. The family took the kittens to the local SPCA where they are being nursed back to health. They plan to adopt the cats once they are healthy.

6. Police pull man out of car before a train crash

[youtube id=”3pdoOyFbcYY”]

Two California police officers are being credited for their quick thinking after they pulled a man from his vehicle seconds before a train crashed into it. Watch the dramatic video above to see how the cops quickly saved the man from danger.

7. Update: Book donations pour in for Utah boy who couldn’t afford a bus pass to go to the library

Image: (Photo: John Wilson/KSL-TV)

In last week’s roundup, we featured the story of Utah mailman Ron Lynch who helped 12-year-old Mathew Flores receive books after he discovered the boy reading junk mail. Flores told Lynch he was not able to afford a bus pass to go to the local library, so he read advertisements instead. Lynch posted the story on his Facebook page asking people to donate books to Flores. A local news station got in touch with Flores and the mailman to see how many books have been donated, and the amount is astounding.

Just last Saturday, a truck full of 300 books was delivered to Flores’ home. Now, the boy hopes to share his books with others and Lynch is planning to help. “You know, there’s Mathews everywhere. There’s a million of them,” Lynch said. “Hope that we can turn this now into getting books into every kid’s hands.”

8. Model who lost 95% of her jaw to cancer poses in first photoshoot with her baby son who was expected not to live

Image: Manolo Ceron

Last year, Canadian model Elizaveta Bulokhova was pregnant when she was diagnosed with bone cancer in her jaw. At the time, she was told that she would have to terminate her pregnancy because the dangers of chemotherapy on her unborn baby. In a gruelling surgery, 95 per cent of Bulokhova’s jaw was removed to get rid of the tumor. Complications after her surgery delayed her chemotherapy as well as the termination of her pregnancy.

When Bulokhova was 28 weeks pregnant she delivered her son, Valentin, 10 weeks early. “I just told myself whatever the universe has in store for me I will accept it,’ she told reporters. ‘If my baby is meant to be born, he will be born.” One year later, Bulokhova has modelled in her first photoshoot since her surgery and the birth of her baby. The series of pictures shows how cancer and chemotherapy has physically impacted Bulokhova, but more importantly the images depict the love she has for her baby boy.

9. Bride asks 89-year-old grandmother to be her bridesmaid

Image: Sweetwater Portraits

When 89-year-old Elizabeth Govern (or Nana Betty as her family calls her) was asked to be a bridesmaid at her granddaughter’s wedding, she was a little nervous. Christine was determined to have her grandmother as her bridesmaid because she considers Nana Betty to be her best friend. “The decision was easy given the strength of our relationship,” Christine told reporters. “Who doesn’t want her best friend standing beside her on her wedding day?” Nana Betty couldn’t say no to her granddaughter’s offer and now adorable images of Christine and her grandmother at the wedding have gone viral. “You’re only as old as you feel and I feel young today,” Nana Betty told Christine on the day of the wedding. Nana Betty is proof to all that age should not stop you from having fun.